Dr. Bailey Carrodus, the founder of top Australian wine estate Yarra Yering has died, Decanter reports.
The celebrated Australian winemaker was credited as one of the driving forces in reviving winemaking in Victoria’s now celebrated Yarra Valley.
He is, however, best known for producing some of Australia’s greatest wines. Yarra Yering’s Cabernet Sauvignon blend (Red Wine No. 1) and Shiraz blend (Red Wine No. 2) both are featured in Langton’s classification of Australian wines.
Carrodus originally trained as a botanist specializing in plant physiology. After studying in Europe, he returned to Australia, becoming a member of the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization.
In 1969, Carrodus founded Yarra Yering and began planting vines. The first vintage, in 1973, was the first wine to be commercially produced in the Yarra Valley in 52 years. Other estates — including Seville, Yeringberg and Mount Mary — also emerged at this time. However, wine production in the valley, east of Melbourne in Australia’s Victoria region, had started in 1838 with the arrival of the first settlers.
By the early 1980s, Yarra Yering’s reputation had been sealed. In 1991, James Halliday wrote that he had “long been a staunch and vocal supporter of Yarra Yering’s dry reds.”
“They are wines which appeal to the heart rather than the mind,” he noted. “And those with a cerebral or over-technical approach may find fault – which is just as well, because there is not enough to go around.”
